The game consists of 7 different maps, all containing a different set of missions competitors will have to team up with other players to take on.
Strategizing with the random map you’ve been assigned to play on is the key to victory in Heroes of the Storm. Here we will explore the Garden of Terror map, including general tips and tricks, then diving further into specific champions, builds, and strategies to wipe the floor with your opponents.
Step 1: A General Understanding of the Map
Map Objective
Any new players should know that the Garden of Terror is based around a cycle of day and night. During the day the aim is to establish control and push whatever structures you can. At night, small plants called “Shamblers” will appear in fixed places around the map that players will have to defeat to be able to pick up the seeds the leave behind.
After your team collects 100 seeds, your Garden Terror can be controlled by any member of your team, simply by picking the plant up inside your base. Once your Garden Terror has been released, your team uses this powerful creature to push lanes and defeat enemies.
Map Layout
The Garden of Terror consists of 3 total lanes– Top, Mid, and Bottom. In between the lanes contains a very large jungle area with many twists, turns, walls, and bushes.
The jungle area is where most of the action is going to be happening, since that’s where teams will be required to collect the seeds. Above all else, the seeds are a necessary part of winning any games on this map, so fighting for objective control will take place almost always in the jungle.
Therefore, it’s important to know where all the hiding places are that enemies could potentially jump out from. It’s also vital that players are aware of which walls are thin enough to jump over and where the minion camps spawn, so they can be easily picked up from one lane to the next.
Current Team Structure Meta
As of now, the best way to take this map on is as follows:
Red Team 1 Top 1 Mid 3 Bottom Blue Team 3 Top 1 Mid 1 Bottom
This meta is based on the locations of the seed spawns, which will be expanded on as you continue. Players who follow this meta will have a greater chance to pick up the smaller minion camps, giving the team more time to take advantage of the Night.
For any rebellious types, these roles can be switched for a more aggressive play style. Players looking to counter their opponent’s team can face the 3-player lane head on in order to take the easy advantage away from the other team. This play style is a bit more dangerous and requires intelligent and well-planned roams from Top and Mid.
Minion Camps
In the Garden of Terror, you’ll find 3 nuetral minion camps on each side of the map, making there 6 in total.
There are 2 small Ogre camps on the top and bottom of the Blue and Red side, with 1 large Bruiser camp on each side. Since the Red team’s Bruiser camp is closer on the top, this is the easier option for the Red team. the Blue team’s Bruiser is on the bottom.
Since the Red team normally has 3 on bottom, and Blue has 3 on top, the large camps are further away from each team. This makes strategizing even more important when going after your respective Bruiser, since the other team will usually have 3 people there to stop you.
Killing your large camp should be saved for times when you know the enemy team is elsewhere or dead.
How Seeds are Gathered
As I mentioned before, the seed camps that drop seeds are called Shamblers. These Shamblers will only spawn during the Night Cycle, so it’s important to strategize before Night begins.
Once the Shamblers spawn, you’ll have to fight and kill them in order for them to drop the seeds. Seeds can then be walked over to be automatically added to your teams seed count.
Seed Locations
When the night cycle begins, you and your team’s main focus will be to collect the seeds that spawn in the 6 locations above.
Each small Shambler will drop 5 seeds, and they sit in groups of 3. Therefore, each small camp will drop a total of 15 seeds. There are 2 Golems on the map, 1 on each side, that drop a whopping 60 seeds when slayed.
As you can see there are 3 Shambler camps on each side, and therefore provide an equal opportunity for both teams. However, the Shamblers on the top of the map are slightly to the left, while the Shamblers on the bottom are slightly to the right. This gives the top Shamblers the favor of the Blue Team (they always spawn on the left), and the bottom Shamblers are in favor of the Red Team (they always spawn on the right).
What this translates to is that the Red Team will generally run a 3-person lane on the bottom and the Blue Team will run a 3-person lane on the top. This will ensure easy capture for their respective camps.
Countering the Meta
A strategy that could also be favorable in this map to take your team’s 3-person lane and to move it to the unfavorable side of the map to counter your opponent’s advantageous seed location.
Once you’ve swiped your opponent’s seeds out from their unsuspecting noses, making your way back to your team’s seeds is an easy victory.
Roaming
Whichever strategy your team decides to implement, the other two solo lanes will have to roam accordingly. One camp may decide the difference between spawning a Garden Terror or not, so taking advantage of location on this map is a must.
Step 2: How to Capitalize on the Night Cycle
Throughout the game you’ll notice that there is a Day Cycle and a Night Cycle. The Day Cycle is purely based on a timer (details below), and the Night Cycle will end when the last seed is picked up.
Watching the Timer
Without fail, the first Night Cycle will spawn at 1:30 every game. Each subsequent Day Cycle will last 3 minutes and 30 seconds.
By staying aware of these timers, your team and you can plan ahead. Picking off an opponent or two slightly before the Night returns means an easier time picking up and fighting for seeds.
You can also set up an ambush where you know the other team will be collecting their seeds. Hide in the bush closest to the camp and wait for your opponents to take damage from the camp, then pop out and pick them off and pick up all the seeds.
Staying in Control
By fleshing out your team’s strategy during the Day, before Night falls, you’ll be able to take advantage of this massive map.
Maintaining control upon Nightfall is the key to gathering as many seeds as you can, which includes avoiding unwanted teamfights, fighting minion camps, and ultimately dying, when you know the Night Cycle is about to begin.
In short, use the Day Cycle to prepare for the Night as well as possible.
Which Seeds to Gather First
As a general rule, start with the small camps.
The small camps closest to your most powerful lane (the one with 3 people) is the primary target so you can get the easy ones out of the way.
Starting with the Golem is a bad idea. Since it takes significantly longer to kill the Golems, the other team can run around and gather all the small camps while your team is fighting. That’s almost 60 seeds your team is potentially missing out on.
The Best Path to Gathering Seeds
If you’re playing the safer route with the 3 person lane on opposite sides of the map, the smaller camps on your side will generally be followed by the Golem on that same side. There are a few ways you can go about the Night Cycle, but it’s vital your team is on the same page:
Both teams gather their respective seeds which ends the Night with 90 seeds on both teams. This sets up each team for the next Night Cycle. The 2 solo lanes can either come to aid you immediately to finish the camps as quickly as possible in order to rush to the other side to steal what is left of the opponent’s jungle. It’s also possible for the 2 solo lanes to try and pick off a small camp on the opponent’s side to give your team a slight advantage. 1 small camp from the opponent’s side means over 100 seeds and a Garden Terror for you and not your opponent.
If you’re playing the more aggressive composition, your team will focus more on disrupting your opponent’s path than carving one of your own. Ambushing your enemies from bushes and over the thin walls will be the key to this strategy, as well as waiting for the other team to take a beating from the minion camps.
If the strategy works how it’s supposed to, you’ll end up killing some or all of your opponents, leaving the seeds on their side of the jungle up for grabs.
Step 3: The Garden Terror
After your team gathers 100 seeds, anyone on your team can control the massive Garden Terror.
This huge beast is essential to winning on this map because of its ridiculous damage output to heroes and structures. It also has the ability to sprint to get around the map quickly, immobilize structures, and render your opponents useless.
For a comprehensive guide on how to use the Garden Terror as productive as possible, I encourage you to read Rob’s Garden Terror Guide below.
Read: In-Depth Garden Terror Guide
Step 4: Choosing your Hero Effectively
Another powerful aspect to the Garden of Terror is your team composition. Although many times this map will be randomly generated, if you’re creating a custom game, or you have the ability to choose the map you will be playing on, a well-thought-out team comp is necessary to victory.
Powerful Heroes on Garden of Terror
Since the Garden of Terror map is one of the largest, and has an ample amount of twists and turns, high mobility heroes are highly favorable. These include heroes such as the Lost Vikings, Illidan, Rehgar, and Valla.
Strategic heroes such as Murky and Abathur work well on this map since there are many more places to hide Murky’s egg and Abathur.
Heroes that have vision abilities, such as Tassadar, shine in the Garden of Terror since knowing where the enemy is on such a large map can give your team an advantage.
High burst heroes such as Zeratul and Nazeebo are great on this map because the Garden Terror is so tanky, that it will protect powerhouses of damage such as these.
Last, heroes that are not easily ganked will be able to escape from opponents trying to sneak up on them. These heroes will also generally be the one picking up the Garden Terror. The heroes with the most damage should never take the Garden Terror, otherwise their damage output will be waisted.
Team Composition
There are many different compositions that work well on this map, each with its own advantages and disadvantages.
The first is a speed comp full of high mobility champions. A perfect example of this is SK Gaming’s composition in the Grand Final of the Go4Heroes Cup #11.
This team has a large amount of map control since most of the heroes are high mobility, and the one warrior can take control of the Garden Terror leaving the others to expel massive amounts of damage.
The second is a fighting comp full of beefy heroes that cannot be killed easily, high damage output, and utility for the dps and Terror. This composition is more well-rounded and a perfect example is ESC Gaming in the Champions of the Storm Qualifiers.
This team is the perfect counter to the latter and, if used correctly, can decimate a team trying something sneaky or a team trying to take your objectives. This team comp is made for winning fights, and that’s exactly what they’ll do.
Let the Battle Begin!
Now that you’re a Garden of Terror expert, it’s time to decimate your opponents on the field of battle. If there’s anything this Garden of Terror Map Guide is missing, feel free to let us know and we’ll be happy to expand.
Players looking for further HoTS content can find more guides, tips, news and more in the Heroes of the Storm section of GameSkinny here.
